Cleaning Out My Inbox vol. III

A plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on The Closer, Saving Grace, The Ruins, Stargate: Atlantis, Scare Tactics, EMBARQ , The Hottest Young Stars to Watch, and Feral Children.

- Can’t say I have seen either of TNT’s critically acclaimed shows The Closer or Saving Grace, but both will be returning Monday, July 14 starting at 9:00. For those like me that have missed both, TNT has come up with rapid recaps of both which you can view below:

The Closer

Saving Grace


- Last Fall I shared a cool viral ad for The Ruins and now with the imminent release of the Unrated DVD and Blu-Ray version which feature scenes too intense for theaters you can head over ruinsmovie.com and play a game. My sources tell me that the game is best played with your headphones on.

- A pair of Sci-Fi Channel shows return in the next couple weeks including the new season of Stargate: Atlantis, which includes the show’s 100th episode, premieres on Friday, July 11 at 10:00. Then Scare Tactics, with new host Tracy Morgan, starts up on Wednesday July 9 at 10:00.

- A couple weeks ago I posted my rant against Time Warner Cable which is still going on. I may have to look at EMBARQ which also offers cable, internet and phone bundles. EMBARQ is trying to spread awareness about its new satellite services and has created an interactive character named Floppy Armed Muttonhead, that allows you to send “jabs” to your friends through a variety of word combinations all while swinging his floppy arm at them. Check out muttonheadsays.com for all the fun. (Scooter’s Note: doesn’t the dude look like Zach Brath under the hillbilly get up?)

- I am not sure what it says about me or the 9th Green that the very first press release TV Guide ever sent to me is their list of the 13 Hottest Young Stars to Watch, but here is the list:

1. Selena Gomez: This sassy sorcerer from the Disney Channel's Wizards of Waverly Place soon will be costarring alongside Demi Lovato in the cable network's TV movie Princess Protection Program, premiering Sept. 18. With TV, movies and magazine spreads to her credit, Selena is already being dubbed "The Next Miley Cyrus."

2. Demi Lovato: With a sweet voice and perky style, this breakout star of Disney's Camp Rock soon may be the only Demi you'll hear about. When not rockin' venues around the country, she’ll be starring in her own Disney Channel show, Welcome to Mollywood, debuting in the 2008-09 season.

3. Miranda Cosgrove: From starring in her Nickelodeon show iCarly to having four featured tracks on the show's recently released compilation CD, Miranda Cosgrove has arrived. A recent episode of iCarly earned 4.5 million viewers, making Miranda’s show a hit among tweens and teens.

Rounding out the rest of the list are:

4. Emily Osment
5. Brenda Song
6. Dylan and Cole Sprouse
7. Emma Roberts
8. Alyson Stoner
9. Ali Lohan
10. Jordan Pruitt
11. David Henrie
12. Mitchel Musso
13. Meaghan Martin

Yeah, I have no clue who any of these people are sans Roberts, who I believe is Julia’s niece, and Lohan who I assume is Lindsay’s sister. And thirteen is an odd number for a list, couldn’t they find another person, or does Martin have so much potential that she warrants the unlucky number? But anyways. For more on each of these young stars, check out TVGuide.com, but be warned if you are older than these kids and check out the photo gallery, you run the risk of finding Chris Hansen in your kitchen one of these days.

- And since they asked nicely, the band Feral Children have the debut album Second to the Last Frontier coming out next week. You can listen to some of the tracks on their MySpace page.

We on Award Tour: 2008 ESPY Nominations

For whatever reason ESPN has tapped Justin Timberlake at host the ESPY’s. Considering his stint as host of the MTV Movie Awards host was uninspiring, I can’t say this was an inspired choice. And really make no sense because of the occasional Laker stands sighting he has basically any association with sports. Yet with the ESPY’s track record, the show should be at least watchable. This year’s Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, which tend to be the highlight every year will be going to the Black Power guys from the 1968 Olympics. Voting is open over at ESPN.com where you can find all the nominees. Here are select one I am highlighting from this year:


Best Male Athlete
Tiger Woods
Tom Brady
Kobe Bryant
Alex Rodriguez

Who I Voted For: Tiger Woods

Some say that ESPN favors New York and Boston too much and look no further than to this category for that. Here you have two losers nominated and you have to give to Tiger because he actually won something.


Best Team
New York Giants
Boston Red Sox
Kansas University Basketball
Tennessee Woman’s Basketball
Boston Celtics
Detroit Red Wings

Who I Voted For: Detroit Red Wings

My anti-New York/Boston bias is showing by going for Detroit.


Best Championship Performance
Venus Williams
Josh Beckett
Rafael Nadel
Tiger Woods

Who I Voted For: Rafael Nadel

Nadel did the unthinkable and embarrassed Roger Federer.


Best Breakthrough Athlete
Stephan Curry
Adrian Peterson
Kyle Bush
Ana Ivanovic

Who I Voted For: Stephan Curry

Peterson will probably win in a landslide because of all the fantasy teams he help win championships for and I would really like to vote for Ivanavic if only because she is what I like to referrer to as moderately attractive, but there is something to say that my cousin and I were talking about the NBA draft a while back, and we both thought it would be a good idea if the Cavs drafted him and that was solely based on the four games in the NCAA tournament. Now that is the definition of a breakout star.


Best Record Breaking Performance
Barry Bonds
Tom Brady and Randy Moss
Brett Farve
Usian Bolt

Who I Voted For: Brett Farve

Well you have to go for the person on here that never actually cheated, although I feel bad to include Bolt in that statement because I son’t know him, but you have to assume these days all the track and field people are doing something illegal.


Best Upset
Appalachian State over Michigan State (College Football)
New York Giants over New England Patriots (NFL)
Fresno State over Georgia (College Baseball)
Da’Tara at the Belmont (Horse Racing)

Who I Voted For: Appalachian State

As an Ohio resident I have to laugh at any pitfall to the neighbors to our north, but way no March Madness picks?


Best Moment
Central Washington vs. Western Oregon Softball
Jon Lester No Hitter
Danica Patrick

Who I Voted For: Central Washington

This needs to be explained, so some chick hit her very first home run ever only to come up lame going around first. Since rules state that if any teammate touches you on the base path you are automatically out, the other team picked her up and carried her around the base path so her first home run would count.


Best Game
New York Giants vs. New England Patriots
Kansas vs. Memphis (College Basketball)
Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers (Game Four)

Who I Voted For: New York Giants

The evil empire getting their first defeat in the last minute of the last game.


Best Play
Eli Manning to David Tyree (NFL)
Trinity University (Division III Football)
Rick Nash (NHL)
Blake Hoffarber (College Basketball)

Who I Voted For: Eli Manning to David Tyree

Hoffarber may not be a name you know, but this is actually the second time nominated and actually won before as a high schooler. But nothing is going to beat the helmet catch.


Best Coach/Manager
Tom Coughlin (New York Giants)
Terry Francona (Boston Red Sox)
Pat Summitt (Tennessee Woman’s Basketball)
Doc Rivers (Boston Celtics)

Who I Voted For: Tom Coughlin

It is silly each year that they always pick the coaches from the winning teams, yet would anyone put Doc Rivers in the fifty best managers in pro sport, much less the top four?


Best Finish
Jamie McMurry (Daytona International Speedway)
Western Kentucky over Drake (NCAA Basketball Tournament)
San Antonio Spurs over Phoenix Suns (NBA)
Pittsburg Penguins over Detroit Red Wings (Stanley Cup)

Who I Voted For: Western Kentucky

The Pittsburg game was a great finish, but it just prolonged the series another game, I got to go with the buzzer beater.


Hummer Like Nothing Else Award
Manny Ramirez
Sidney Crosby
Ashley Force
George Martin

Who I Voted For: George Martin

Wonder if Manny got the nod before or after he knocked the Red Sox secretary to the ground? For those that do not know George Martin, he walked 3200 miles for 9/11 charities.


Best NFL Player
Tom Brady
Randy Moss
Eli Manning
LaDainian Tomlinson
Bob Sanders
Brett Farve

Who I Voted For: Bob Sanders

I am a big proponent of defense wins championships and Sanders is the only defensive player here.


Best NBA Player
LaBron James
Kobe Bryant
Chris Paul
Dwight Howard
Kevin Garnett

Who I Voted For: Chris Paul

Kobe winning MVP was a joke because he wasn’t even the MVP of his own team. Without Pao Gasol, LA doesn’t even host a playoff series that is even if they make it. Paul on the other hand took a nothing team and took them within one game of the NBA Finals.


Best Baseball Player
Alex Rodriguez
Josh Beckett
Jimmy Rollins
Jake Peavy
C.C. Sabathia

Who I Voted For: Jake Peavy

I got nothing, time to end this.

Robbin' Old Folks and Making the Dash

Back in college there was plenty of Madden and pretty much all the sports games from EA, to the point I even entered into a tournament with a dorm mate on who could win the most of the EA games. Unfortunately we never finished because the other guy quite after I went up something like 5-2. But anyways. Even in the middle of all that superior Playstation days, we still had time to play Super Mario Kart.

For the most part we would play match race and tempers flared up just as they would in anything else with controllers being thrown as well as the occasional fist. Easily the most memorable game involved with the quitter mentioned above and may even rank high in most memorable college moments. While we were engaged in yet another marathon session (usually we play best of 10 or more since battle modes do not take that long) and a buddy of ours came in and told him to a sip of something in a cap which he did. The friend mentioned as the other guy bolted out of the room, down to the drinking fountain where he spent a good five minutes that it was moonshine. Needless to say I won that round.

My sister recently mentioned that she was going to buy herself a Wii. Please don’t spoil her, but she will be getting Mario Kart Wii for Christmas and I may be spending more time out her place when it happens. Someone else will have to bring the moonshine. But all in all, the one that started it all is this month’s induction into the Scooter Hall of Fame.

Basically What We Gonna Do Is Dance

What a difference a generation makes. Everyone under the age of thirteen knows Vanessa Hudgens as the wholesome chick from the High School Musical series while everyone over that age knows her as the not so wholesome chick from the internet pictures. No matter the age group, very little people know her as a singer outside the musical. Of course it didn’t help that her best songs dropped just shortly before the scandal broke last year.

Since nude scandals no longer hurt careers anymore, and in most cases actually help, Hudgens is back with a new album Identify before parents across the country to see the third installment of High School Musical. If there is a theme to the album it is dancing. The first single Sneakernight is dedicated to the footwear of choice when it is time to go out dancing while Hook it Up is what happens when the shoes are on.

Hook it Up also features the annoying faux rap that ever female dance act goes into at least once an album ever since Gwen Stefani. Most of the dance tracks are you typically paint by numbers tracks that break no new boundaries complete with overproduction and Pro Tools aided vocals. The only song that even comes close to deviating is the album opener Last Night, a danceable track that with banjos that could get people moving from Middle School dances to your local ho-downs. Well ho-downs hosted by Jessica Simpson.

Of course I don’t think there has been a more profound lyrics written this year than, “I see Milky Way hotties so beam me up Scotty” from Party on the Moon. Granted the only other songs worth checking out are the slow songs, highlighted by Don’t Ask Why that comes close to last year’s breezy Say OK. Well unless you fall in the under thirteen category, then maybe the recycled dance beats may be more your style.

Song to Download - Last Night

Identify gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

Voted Most Likely to End up on the Back of a Milk Box Drink

Certainly by now you have heard the not a Jill Sobule cover I Kissed a Girl or the ode to Ryan Seacrest You’re so Gay by Katy Perry (I featured the former in a battle of the not cover songs last week). Calling the reviews for her album One of the Boys mixed would be an understatement. Billboard said, “Not since Jagged Little Pill has a debut album been so packed with potential hits,” while Rolling Stone labeled it “boring.”

The Alanis Morissette comparison could come more from the appearance of Glen Ballard who co-wrote her debuted album and hasn’t been heard since help making the worst Dave Matthews Band album of their career. But a much better comparison would be Avril Lavigne if she let her keyboardist have too much control in her band. Not surprisingly, sometime Lavigne producer Dr. Luke also shows up on One of the Boys.

This is not to disrespect Lavigne who has been able to create a few catchy songs in her career and can actually carry a tune. Perry on the other hand has a voice that gets grating fast sounding like the leader of a bad new wave band from the eighties and as Rolling Stone were point on by calling the album boring; it is just one paint by number angst track after another. The only tracks that stand out are the two novelty tracks previously mention, but Perry’s novelty wears thin a lot sooner than even Who Let the Dogs Out as each got tiresome about the second listen.

It is funny that Perry makes fun of emo rockers in You’re So Gay, because if a dude sang any of her songs, he’d definitely wear guyliner and be signed to Pete Wentz’s label. Self Inflicted is so laughable as a song you have to wonder if it is supposed to be as tongue and cheek as her novelty songs. And her love for eighties new wave, a precursor to emo, almost goes over the edge on If You Can Afford Me which changes enough notes from The Cure’s Just Like Heaven to avoid a copyright suit.

Song to Download - I'm Still Breathing - One of the Boys

One of the Boys gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. XXXV

Quote of the Week: You know the lyric “I once got busy in a Burger King bathroom”: that’s me. (Tony Kornheiser, Pardon the Interruption)

Song of the Week: The Humpty Dance - Digital Underground (as mention by Tony Kornheiser, Pardon the Interruption)

Big New of the Week: Famous People Say the Dumbest Things: Well at least the pundits would have you believe. First off there was John McCain adviser Charlie Black who said that the McCain campaign would benefit from a terrorist attack which had all those pundits up in arms except they have been saying the exact same throughout the primary season as well as Hilary Clinton. Then there was Shaquille O’Neil who asked former teammate Kobe Bryant what the flavoring of his posterior was. This then got a full Sportscenter dedicated to his rap, but c’mon, who hasn’t asked everyone they met this past week to tell them how their (expletive deleted) tasted? Or was that just me? Finally there was Don Imus who asked what color Pacman Jones when it was brought up he had been arrested eight times. When one of his goons said African-American Imus relied, “Well there you go.” Alright, that dude is a moron.


Coalition Links of the Week:
If thinking The Secret Life of the American Teenager could be cheesily addictive is wrong, Buzz doesn't want to be right. (BuzzSugar)

GMMR has been podcast crazy this past week. Two, count 'em, two podcasts! In addition to the usual GMMR/Ducky So You Think You Can Dance podcast, we devoted a separate TV Talk Podcast to what shows are taking over our TV this summer. (Give Me My Remote)

Marcia decided to spend the summer hiatus watching old episodes of Buffy and wondered if the show improves with repeat viewings. (Pop Vultures)

From Miami to Vancouver, this week Rae was on the set of Psych and she's only to happy to share what happened. (RTVW)

School's out and Vance celebrates the end of an era now that Emma, daughter of Spike (from the original Degrassi) has now graduated from Degrassi High on Degrassi: The Next Generation. (Though The N will show those episodes this summer.) (Tapeworthy)

Remember that episode about the helpless dude who delivered the baby in the elevator? Oh yeah, that was every series ever. By that token, Dan decided to coin the term "elevator baby" and cement his role in pop culture history. (TiFaux)

Tube Talk shared some scoop on the new season of Psych, after an interview with show stars James Roday and Dulé Hill, fondly remembered shows that were canceled too early, and asked for help in naming Tube Talk Girl’s future baby boy. (Tube Talk)

This week we finally spotted someone who has a Nerdier license plate than the TV Addicts and released what critics, and by critics I mean listeners are saying was our funniest to date! (The TV Addict)

Kate is disappointed enough with this season of My Boys that she drafted an open letter to the show's writers. (TV Filter)


The Middleman: A bit of a fall off from last week, but I did like the gag of Hell being an office building. But there were some pacing issues keeping it from being as good as the pilot. And again, please stop spending your entire budget on bad CGI. Signs are not good for the future of the show as next week it is hastily being pushed to 10:00, so enjoy it while you can. You can dowload episodes of The Middleman on iTunes.


The Bill Engvall Show: I don’t remember this show being this funny from the first two episodes, but I laughed quite heavily a few times this episode if only because I have been on the receiving end of many of bad gifts in my lifetime. Catch up on recent episodes over at TBS.com




My Boys: Really nothing to say but both the A and B plots fell flat this week. Catch up on recent episodes over at TBS.com. You can also download My Boys on iTunes.


I Love the New Millennium: Back when I Love the 90’s premiered in 2004 I said it was too soon for reminiscing on the decade, so naturally I Love the New Millennium is way too soon. And what worked well with the I Love the 80’s was hearing dudes in their thirties talking about things they grew up about; hearing dudes in their forty taking about MySpace is a little creepy. And do we really need to hear Hal Spark and Michael Ian Black’s thoughts on every subject? It is obvious Black stopped trying around I Love the 80’s Part Deux and Sparks in only funny in small bursts.


Promo of the Week: All the nerds were in a tizzy this week. No, not because Bill Gates retired Friday, but for a promo for Joss Whedon’s internet series Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-Long Blog featuring Neil Patrick Harris as the title character and Nathan Fillion as his arch nemesis. Here’s the teaser:




Pick for Next Week: I Love Money, Sunday (July 6th) at 9:00 on VH1: I know I shouldn’t be this excited for a show that is going to suck massively, but I have to support my boy Midget Mac.

Listen to the Best Songs of 2007

Darn you VH1. I told myself I would not watch I Love the Millennium because it is too soon (not to mention I have March 2010 in the office pool as to when they would roll out the series. Then a massive thunder storm hit so I was flipping through the channels during it, stopping on the show. I said to myself I would only watch a segment and then do something productive, six hours later I finished off the marathon and felt dirty (crazy astronaut lady: too soon, man, too soon). Alas I didn't write anything for today so instead you can take an hour or so and check out the widget I mad of the best songs of last year. Because not all the songs are on Amazon MP3,where you can buy the songs DRM free, check out the 100 Best Songs of 2007 for the complete list.



And yes I realize the irony of railing against holding a nostalgia fest for stuff that happened as soon as last year only for me to roll out something from last year.

I Just Want to Be a Part of Your Home

From the first time you hear the voice of Amos Lee you can tell he made the right decision to become a singer. He has the kind of soulful tones that other singers would go down to the crossroads and sell their soul to the devil to have. Of course being from Philly, a city that knows a thing or two about soul, Lee has probably had that mastered since birth. And by virtue of being on Blue Note Records, thanks to be discovered by Norah Jones, a fair amount of the blues seems in too.

On his third album, Last Days at the Lodge, really fleshes out the music that accompanies his voice which most likely can be attributed to bringing in some of best sidemen in the business including Doyle Bramhall, Jr. (Eric Clapton) on guitar, Spooner Oldham (Neil Young) on keys, Pino Palladino (John Mayer Trio) on bass, James Gadson (Bill Withers) on drums with Don Was (Was, Not Was) producing. Now there’s a murders row of a backing band if I ever saw one.

Lee gets it right from the start of the album when he demands you to Listen. A slick bass line that slow burns into a good old southern style rocker when the guitars kick in and the drums go into high gear. The rest of the album sits mostly in the mellow, sometime baby making (seriously, if you want some sweet lovin’, put on Won’t Let Me Go) category with slick back music reminiscent of Mussel Shoals classics. The standout that breaks that mold is Street Corner Preacher where Lee turns into a Bob Dylan style storyteller on a backdrop of a funky foot stomper that deserves to be heard on every street corner.

Song to Download - Street Corner Preacher

Last Days at the Lodge gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

Toss Up: Katy Perry vs Charlotte Sometimes

Every couple days I troll the internet for new music video and usually I still to acts I already know unless there is a big buzz around a new artist or if a title just catches my eye. Videos by Katy Perry and Charlotte Sometimes basically caught my eye for the exact same reason, I thought that I Kissed a Girl and How I Could Kill a Man were covers of Jill Sobule and Cypress Hill respectively and was severely disappointed when it turned out neither were. So let’s break them down individually to their predecessors:


I Kissed a Girl - Katy Perry




I Kissed a Girl - Jill Sobule



What a different a decade makes. The Jill Sobule version would have been shocking had it not have been so cheesy. Not we have Katy Perry presumably trying to be shocking with her Girls Gone Wild video with all the good parts taken out. But you can find more shocking things on ABC Family in primetime these days. They you replace upbeat pop with dirty techno. Even worse: no Fabio cameo.


How I Could Just Kill a Man - Charlotte Sometimes




How I Could Just Kill a Man - Cypress Hill



With MTV’s anti-violence stance it was shocking when Yo! MTV Raps started spinning the Cypress Hill song back in the early nineties. But ever since the Dixie Chicks said goodbye to Earl, it seems like every pop tart from Kelly Clarkson to that arsonist Taylor Swift want to do bodily harm to a jilted ex, so again, not so shocking over a decade later.


Okay, I guess it shouldn’t be too surprising that neither could stack up to the original. But as for the premise for the Toss Up between the two new songs, the clear winner is Charlotte Sometimes as her song is at least remotely catchy.

Melancholy Happy Trails to George Carlin

The world is now a little less funny with the passing of George Carlin this past weekend. Like many dudes my age, I was introduced to the comic as Bill and Ted’s spiritual guide on their excellent adventure and subsequent bogus journey, two of his rare appearances on screen which included a memorable cameo in Dogma as a priest who blessed his golf clubs. Of course Carlin spent most of his time on stage where he continued to do until his death and remained funny to the end as I remember seeing him on The Tonight Show not too long ago. Carlin was really the first stand up to have the great mix of intelligent humor and the obscene. If you are too young to know George Carlin, do yourself a favor and head over to YouTube and put his name into the search, pop some pop corn, and prepare not to do anything for the next couple hours (his most famous routine below and definitely not safe for work). Foe more on George Carlin, check out this Kevin Smith, who directed Dogma, eulogy from Newsweek.

Sometimes I Get so Lonely I Forget What Day it Is

We all do things for weird reason. Basically the only reason I check out movies starring the dude from The Notebook is because I have been told by multiple people that I look like the dude from The Notebook (full discloser: I do not think I look like the dude from The Notebook). Ironically one of the few movies of his I have never seen starring the dude from The Notebook is The Notebook.

If there is one thing the dude from The Notebook likes it to take roles that will push him as an actor. And there is really no way to push yourself more as an actor it to have your leading lady be inanimate object like in Lars and the Real Girl. Lars is your typical movie introvert, living in the garage of his family’s home; that is until he orders a living doll “introduces” her to his brother and his wife.

Naturally they are concerned and take him to the local shrink who suggests that they go along with it and he may eventually grow out of the delusion. Of course he may not. And naturally the town folks are a little weary that one of their residents taking Bianca to church and other town functions. This is especially heartbreaking to Lars’ co worker Kelli Garner (Man of the House) who was quite smitten with him despite him running around whenever he sees her.

With that premise, in lesser hands the movie would play like a Saturday Night Live skit that is stuck close to the end of the episode. But every time it seems like the movie is going to detour into the absurd, it comes back to being grounded. And the movie takes a real humorous look at mental illness. Cheers should go to the writer, director, and the dude from The Notebook to be able to pull this off.

Lars and the Real Girl gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

Pardon the Mess

Today I will be messing with my template so excuse if the 9th Green looks a little funky right now. Actually I will be trying to switch over to the new XML Blogger. Unfortunately I can pass using HTML but know nothing about XML, so come tomorrow you may be seeing the old template if I get too frustrated (which has happened every other time I have played with XML). But if everything goes well, hopefully this place will look a little more streamlined and organized. Feel free to leave any suggestions to what you would like to see added to the 9th Green in the comment section.

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. XXXIV

Quote of the Week: Profanity cheapens the soul and weakens the mind. (The Middleman, The Middleman)

Big News of the Week: Grey’s Anatomy Writing Sucks: Katherine Heigl confirmed what I have suspected for the past three years, that the Grey’s Anatomy writing staff isn’t very good. This stems from Heigl pulling herself from Emmy consideration as she says, “I did not feel that I was given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination” and followed that up with, “In addition, I did not want to potentially take away an opportunity from an actress who was given such materials.” Anyone want to play a game of Over/Under on how many episodes before those writers come up with a way to kill off her character? Of course this is not the first time Heigl has bitten the hand that feeds her calling Knocked Up, “a little sexist.” Heigl as of when I am posting this has no comment on the quality of 27 Dresses yet. (Scooter’s Note: I actually wrote this last week before bigger new broke late last week so I am posting it this week because nothing really that interesting happened.)

Coalition Links of the Week:
It may be the Summer hiatus, but Buzz still has a few questions for Grey's Anatomy. (BuzzSugar)

If you know the significance of the 'bench dance', understand the genius of Mia Michaels, and secretly want to be on the Hot Tamale Train then you should check out GMMR & Ducky's So You Think You Can Dance podcast. (Give Me My Remote)

Marcia found herself thoroughly underwhelmed by The Middleman. (Pop Vultures)

On the set of Burn Notice, Rae discovers that Jeffrey Donovan's just as cool as his alter-ego Michael Westen. (RTVW)

Vance video recaps The Tony Awards since apparently, no one watched it on TV. By the way, go see In the Heights, Passing Strange and Xanadu (for real!)! All fantastic! Take a look at the clips for proof! (Tapeworthy)

Dan didn't see the mid-season finale of Battlestar Galactica coming -- that's for dang sure. This week, he mulled the twist ending as well as the concept of merging our world with Battlestar's. (TiFaux)

Jennifer thinks the Oscars and Emmys should take a cue from the TV Land Awards. You haven’t lived until you’ve seen Horshack from Welcome Back Kotter, Nellie Oleson from Little House on the Prairie, and Doc from The Love Boat dressed in their trademark costumes flying through the air, or the paparazzi catching a panty-free crotch shot of Mama from Mama’s Family. Add in the cast of The Office, Wilhelmina Slater, Justin Timberlake and a Lionel Richie concert, and the TV Land Awards were just about perfect. (Tube Talk)

This week, the TV Addict posted his theory on the highly anticipated spin-off of The Office and visited the set of Burn Notice. (the TV Addict)

Raoul talked to loudmouth Jen from Hell's Kitchen. (TV Filter)


Also, check out my preview of The Middleman and Black Gold.

Pick for Next Week: Rescue Me, Tuesday at 10:00 on FX: Sadly the season hasn’t been pushed up and we won’t get full episodes of Rescue Me until next year, but this is the first of ten five minute minisodes. For those that don’t see the reason to stay around the television for just five minutes, FX will run all ten together later this summer in one episode.

She Learned to Shake Her Thing In Between My Toes

Yeah, I did my semi-regular I Want My Music Television yesterday, then I cam across this, quite possibly the greatest thing ever in the history of YouTube:

Toe Jam - B.P.A.




I cannot stop watching this video and surprisingly has nothing to do with naked chicks. Seriously Boob Pong could be the greatest thing ever. B.P.A. is just another alias for Norman Cook (if I am not mistaken, that is him, um, twirling) whom you may know better as Fatboy Slim with some help from David Byrne and Dizzee Rascal. Enough technical stuff, they make an eye ball complete with eyebrow their boobs. If I do not post tomorrow it will most likely because I am still watching this. I should not be this entertained with black bars.

I Want My Music Television vol. XXVIII

There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I though I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form so here they are courtesy of YouTube. I advise you to watch them before you read my reviews if you don’t want me to spoil things. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available, if not the link goes to YouTube where you can watch the video in full screen). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.


My Medicine - Snoop Dogg

• MTV
• Music Videos
• MTV Shows
• Entertainment News

Snoop Dogg singing country music. Words cannot do this video justice.


Dance with Me - Old 97’s



Okay, some real country music courtesy of the Old 97’s and the hot chick from Battlestar Galactica. I actually had a chance to meet her but unfortunately had a charity event that weekend. All for the best as I probably would have said something stupid, or worst nothing at all while I starred wide-eyed at her.


Hollow Man - R.E.M.



Just a cool video and another great song off of Accelerate from R.E.M.


Sneakerlights - Vanessa Hudgens



I have a soft spot for Vanessa Hudgens because my review of her album quadrupled the record amount of hits for one day at that time. Now there is no way to gauge it, but I also think that day I had the highest percentage of people disappointed to find the 9th Green. But anyways. It is odd that her singing voice in this song sound very little like her talking voice and her singing voice tends to change from song to song. Just thought I’d point that out.

Previewing Black Gold

Black gold in a white plight, won’t you fill up the tank, let’s go for a ride. I don’t care ‘bout no wheelchair, I’ve got so much left to do with my life.

Black Gold is no longer just a rocking Soul Asylum song; it is now a reality show on TruTV. Excuse me, it is not reality, it is actuality as the slogan for the former Court TV goes. Of course both refer to oil. Now I am not sure if a show following a bunch of Texas millionaires drilling for the natural recourse when the national average for a gallon of gas just broke four dollars, but the show premieres tonight at 10:00.

The show follows three drilling rigs in close proximity in West Texas that all set up shop at the same time looking to find a pocket of oil two miles under the surface. The process takes about fifty days and despite the millions of dollars it costs to drill in each location, each rig is not necessarily guaranteed to find any oil. Yep, on of the reasons why oil costs so much because it is still a gamble to fins anything.

The Longhorn is the veteran rig, both in terms of the rig, it is sixty years old, and the men drilling. The Viking is the new kid on the block in its first dig but it is complete with new technological advances. The Big Dog is by far the most powerful of the three by twenty-five percent, but is also manned by the least experienced driller.

There is plenty of action on each of the rigs as they drill in extreme heart, high winds, and nasty rain storms. And there is also action that isn’t supplied by Mother Nature with a loitering company guy hanging out at one rig and one driller and most of his crew getting canned within the first episode.

The oil men have plenty of great stories, like the driller with hands that looks like your high school shop teacher who is in a club of only eighteen other people (ones who survived falling off the top of the rig), with as many bleeps per episode as The Osbornes. My personal favorite being Peanut, a worm (least experiences guy on the rig) who almost gets himself killed or fired multiple times in his first week on the job.

The show comes from the guy that brought us Deadliest Catch and Ice Road Trucker so if you are a fan of either; Black Gold should be right up your alley. But just some things you should know first, there has been a lot made of Matthew McConaughey’s brother Rooster being on the show, but Rooter is one of the guys on the rig but just a pipe salesman. Also no one promises to drink another driller’s milkshake up. But here is a fun fact: Black Gold isn’t the first time cameras descended on Odessa, Texas; the city is where the movie and book Friday Night Lights were based in.

But That Was When I Ruled the World

Okay, Coldplay never actually ruled the world like the character in the song Viva la Vida, but they were on schedule to do so after the amazing Rush of Blood to the Head put them on the cusp of being the biggest band in the land. The only problem was the follow-up X&Y crashed under its own weight, instead of sounding like the greatest band out there, the album came off sounding like a Coldplay cover band.

Knowing they missed a golden opportunity, Coldplay scrapped the idea for the band and started anew; the result is Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends is much less piano, lead singer Chris Martin discovering his voice can do more than falsetto, and more experimentation than their first three albums combined. That experimentation could be attributed to Brian Eno who is the go to producer when you are trying to mix up your sound.

The change is ever-present from the beginning with the instrumental opener Life in Technicolor featuring a Persian santur. And it seems the band picked up even more influences on their world tour aside from the album title, cover and their poor man’s French soldier get-ups they have been sporting everywhere lately. Cemeteries of London features clapping straight from Spanish flamingo dancers while Yes has a distinctive Middle Eastern fell to it. A bagpipe sound even creeps into the Beatlesque Strawberry Swing. But despite its title, Chinese Sleep Chant, the song doesn’t have much in common with the Far East and is really the only song on the album that sounds close to classic Coldplay with its crushing guitars. Even then, Martin’s falsetto is almost completely hidden under the rest of the band.

The writing gets a major overhaul on the album too with Martin’s main go to of relationship topics are rare, instead were get songs about politics like the first single Violet Hill. But the majority of the album deals goes into U2 territory of religion and mortality with such lines peppered throughout the album like, “God is in the houses and God is in my head” (Cemeteries of London), “You didn’t get to heaven but you made it close” (42) “I know St. Peter will call my name” (Viva la Vida) and “I don’t wanna follow Death and all his friends.”

All these changes for the band collimate in Lost! a foot stomping anthem complete with organs straight from a church playing under some crazy percussion instrument. One change that is a little off is all the combination of songs, three of which have two distinctive songs complete with their own titles on the same track. Then there is 42, one name but with three section; the first that has an early Pink Floyd vibe, the middle sound like Radiohead circa OK Computer while the last is something completely new.

Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends may not give Coldplay biggest band in the world status (especially with a new U2 album coming out in the same year) but the album is the band’s reapplication for that title. We will have to wait until album number five until we find out if they are finally accepted as such.

Song to Download - Lost!

Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

Previewing The Middleman

From the promo, it is hard to tell if The Middleman would end up thoroughly enjoyable or just head scratchingly bad. The acting is not in contention for ant awards and the production value looks like, well, the production value for an ABC Family show. But the lead character seems watchable. And it certainly helps that she looks like Rosario Dawson and Brittany Murphy were somehow able to create a child together and was raised a nerd.

The premise is simple, unbeknown to anyone; comic book supervillains are real and are maniacally trying to take over the world with harebrain plots. That is where The Middleman comes in; he foils the plots all the while keeping the mindless public from realizing the true danger that is out there. Yeah it sounds like Men in Black but no one has had their mind erased (yet). Keeping with the Men in Black theme, The Middleman recruits and new partner to help him in his dogoodary.

That is where are snarky heroine comes in, and really aren’t all the female protagonists since Buffy Summers snarky, who joins up because she has become so jaded with life she isn’t even fazed when she gets attacked by a science experiment gone (the CGI of which looked to take up about 95% of the episode’s budget). And in true comic book fashion, she even comes with alliteration, Wendy Watson. And she has good reason to be jaded, she stuck temping while dreaming of being an artist, her boyfriend is an ambiguously gay douche, her roommate is a activist looking for a cause, and of course her mother is nagging her about it all.

The highlight though is the afro-ed, guitar playing hippie who hangs in the hall of Wendy’s apartment spouting inane comments and obscure pop references. Seriously, it is hard not to down with a character whose first words onscreen are quoting Shaft. Rounding out the cast is The Middleman’s cranky secretary who really is not that fond of Wendy.

The first episode deals with a bunch of mobsters being killed off by, well, I don’t want to spoil it for you because, one, it is a hilarious concept (a good sign for the rest of the series), and two, I’m not sure you would believe me without seeing it for yourself. But I will say, the case involves the chick from 24. The show is chalk full with great one-liners and absurd monologues (it is a real life comic book). Aside from the low production value, being a comic book brought to life, it could have been more stylized, there really isn’t much downside. The sub par acting just builds into the campy feel to the show. Granted being from a writer of Lost there are some holes in the back-story like who sends The Middleman his weapons and dispenses him on his jobs. Hopefully we get these answers quicker than his last writing job.

The Middleman premieres tonight at 8:00 on ABC Family and repeats at 9:00 and midnight. For those that do not want to wait for tonight or want to watch it on the go (or just missed it), you can download the first episode of The Middleman for free on iTunes.

Lyrics Quiz: Longest Songs

This month’s Lyrics Quiz is pretty simple, I sorted my iTunes library by time and these are the twenty-five longest songs I have. Well, these are all album versions; I took out all the live songs, remixes and obscure songs. Each of these songs clock in at more than six and a half minutes and are ranked starting with the largest. As always you need to put both artist and title in the comments section (or you can e-mail me) and if you are correct I will un-bold it and give you credit. The Lyrics Quiz is for entertainment purposes only so please do not use anything besides your own meandering mind to help you up with the answers. Now onto the quiz:


1. If I leave here tomorrow, would you still remember me? (Free Bird - Lynyrd Skynyrd; guessed by Dara)
2. Who's up for game three? I can barely see the bourbon drowning next to me and I just lost it all. (That Was a Crazy Game of Poker - O.A.R.; guessed by Lauren fm NC)
3. I never wanted to be your weekend lover. I only wanted to be some kind of friend. Baby I could never steal you from another. It’s such a shame our friendship had to end. (Purple Rain - Prince and the Revolution; guessed by Dara)
4. Did you write the book of love? And do you have faith in God above if the Bible tells you so? (American Pie - Don McLean; guessed by Dara)
5. There are days when outside your window. I see my refection when I slowly pass. Then I long for this mirrored perspective when we will be lovers, lovers at last.
6. And though they could not produce the gun the DA said he was the one who did the deed. And the all-white jury agreed. (Hurricane - Bob Dylan; guessed by Dave Faulkner)
7. The grass was greener. The light was brighter. The taste was sweeter. The nights of wonder. With friends surrounded. The dawn mist glowing. The water flowing. The endless river. Forever and ever.
8. It’s crazy I’m thinking just knowing the world is round and here I’m dancing on the ground. Never right side up or upside down. Is this real or am I dreaming. (Crush - Dave Matthews Band; guessed by Dara)
9. I dream that I never know anyone at the party and I’m always the host. If dreams are like movies than memories are films about ghosts. (Mrs. Potter's Lullaby - Counting Crows; guessed by Dara)
10. Hotel, motel, Holiday Inn. If your girls starts acting up then you take her friend. (Rapper's Delight - Sugarhill Gang; guessed by Curtisleefarmer)
11. Things are okay with me these days. Got a good job, got a good office. Got a new wife, got a new life and the family is fine. (Scenes from an Italian Restaurant - Billy Joel; guessed by Dave Faulkner)
12. Is this the way it’s really going down? Is this how we say goodbye? Should have known when you came around that you were gonna make me cry. (What Goes Around... / ...Comes Around - Justin Timberlake; guessed by Dara)
13. Where were you while we were getting high? (Champagne Supernova - Oasis; guessed by Dara)
14. I thought I told you to meet me, but I walk down o the beach. Tell me how does it feel when your heart goes cold? (Blue Monday - New Order; guessed by Dara)
15. I am yours, you are mine, you are what you are. You make it hard.
16. But this girl was ugly. I mean her body was threw. But after four drinks of more she looked like Paula Abdul.
17. For that mean, mean, mean, mean green.
18. And when he died all he left me was alone. (Papa Was a Rollin' Stone - The Temptations; guessed by Paul)
19. I’ll be loving you until the rainbow and stars aren’t in the skies. Loving you until the oceans cover every mountain high.
20. Remember to let her into your heart, then you can start to make it better. (Hey Jude - The Beatles; guessed by Dara)
21. In this great future you can’t forget your past. So dry your tears I say.
22. Like a fool I fell in love with you. Turned my whole world upside down. (Layla - Derek and the Dominos; guessed by Dara)
23. Right about now, the funk soul brother. Check it out now. (Rockafeller Skank - Fatboy Slim; guessed by Paul)
24. It’s four o’clock in the morning, damnit. Listen to me good, I’m sleeping with myself tonight. (Someone Saved My Life Tonight - Elton John; guessed by Paul)
25. The Surgeon General says it's hazardous to breathe. I’d have another cigarette, but I can’t see. (Paradise City - Guns n' Roses; guessed by Dara)